Athletes today place a tremendous strain on their muscles and joints as they participate in athletic events. Some of the most common injuries to athletes particularly runners involve injuries to the muscles in the groin, thigh and hip areas. These are generally due to the improper strengthening of these muscles in these areas.
It is desireable to use a device which will exercise the upper leg in a running motion, thereby exercising and strengthening the muscles in the hip and thigh areas to prevent the above injuries.
The most efficient way to strengthen the muscles in the hip and thigh area is to isolate them from the rest of the body and exercise them at a controlled rate throughout the entire movement of the leg.
It is particularly important to exercise with muscles utilized in the rearward movement of the leg which pushes the body forward since the leg usually meets no resistance when off the ground and moving outwardly in front of the body when in mid air stride. Therefore, the pulling and pushing muscles encountered once the leg meets the ground and pulls the body and pushes the body forward or the muscles which are most important to strengthen.
Patents which disclose exercising devices utilizing sophisticated hydraulic structures and pumps are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,120,954; 3,465,592; 3,495,824; and 3,822,599. Other devices have employed series of pulleys and change the rope for lifting weights; however, these devices exercise in a single direction and may not be released without dropping the weight since they utilize gravity as a force for exercising the member.